Revision History

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4/23/2024, 9:35 PM Mike C update #115
12/14/2019, 2:25 PM Mike C update #106
4/16/2019, 9:13 PM Mike C update #103
1/22/2019, 10:01 AM Mike C update #101
7/2/2017, 10:39 PM Mike C update #95
12/3/2014, 12:28 AM Mike C update #89
2/12/2007, 1:03 AM Mike C earliest recorded revision

Gender Masculine
Usage French
Pronounced Pron. ZHAHN

Meaning & History

Modern French form of Jehan, the Old French form of Iohannes (see John). Since the 12th century it has consistently been the most common male name in France. It finally dropped from the top rank in 1958, unseated by Philippe.

The French theologian Jean Calvin (1509-1564) and the philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) and Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) are well-known bearers of this name. It was also borne by the German-French Dadaist artist Jean Arp (1886-1966).